Assane is a Senegalese photographer based in Brooklyn whose work brings a vibrant, contemporary lens to traditional African portraiture, drawing inspiration from photographers like Seydou Keita. His work fuses the rich visual language of African heritage with modern urban sensibilities, creating portraits that are at once timeless and immediate.
The subjects, rendered in striking color and detail, are set against backdrops of Senegal and New York City's streets, architecture, and parks, blending cultural history with the pulse of city life. Through this interplay, Assane explores identity, place, and the continuity of tradition within a modern metropolis.
Awards
2025 FUJIFILM/Penumbra Foundation Internship Program, NY
2025 Among 15 artists selected for the Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art - Lagos, Nigeria
2025 Selected by NYFA to participate in the NYFA Immigration Artists Program, NY
2024 Among Brooklyn Artists to celebrate 200 years of the Brooklyn Museum's existence, NY
2024 Three works auctioned during the ArtsConnection Benefit festival, NY
2023 Levi’s 501 Vogue Edition selected among 150 uprisings photographers of the world
2019 Outstanding artist of the year - Tenzer Learning Center, Department of Education, NY
Individual exhibitions
2025 Dëkkandoo Yi: Visualizing Neighbors and Collective Identity, Packer Collegiate Institute, NY
2024 A New Multiculturalism: Exploring Tradition…Through Photography, The Africa Center, NY
2023 The Sun and the Moon Share the Same Bed, The WildProject Gallery, NY
2023 Mad King, Mimi Plange/WESHHH, SoHo House, NY
2022 Beauty in Art, Costandino Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2021 I am Black, Savant Studios Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Selected group exhibitions
2026 The New Colossus, Lorimoto Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2026 Black Stars, Make Manifest Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2025 In Between Exhibit, New York Lives Art, NY
2024 The Brooklyn Artists, Brooklyn Museum, NY
2024 Art is the Heart of Life, Artsconnection Benefit Festival, NY
2023 Levi’s 501, celebrating 150 years of existence, Virtual Exhibit
2022 Mowing Forward: The Future of Photography, Soho Photo Gallery, NY
2022 Static Art Collective, Summer Gallery, Alison Bradley Projects, NY
2021 PhotoVille, Community Heroes, Brooklyn, NY
2020 International Center of Photography, Global Images for global crisis, NY
Education
2024 Hunter College - Bachelor of Science, NY
2021 MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), Certificate in Seeing Through Photography, NY
2019 ICP (International Center of Photography), Certificate in Film Photography, NY
Worshops, residencies & Guest Lectures
2026 Studio Museum in Harlem wolof tour guide, NY
2025 Residency at Packer Collegiate Institute, NY
2025 TAP (Teaching Artist Program), Certificate in Teaching Artist, in Progress, NY
2025 lecture ArtsConnection TRaC teen program, NY
2025 lecture high school students at Packer Institute, Africa through the lens class, NY
2024 Guest Speaker at FIT(Fashion Institute of Technology), African Art and Civilization, NY
2024 Graduate speaker for high school graduate at Pathways to graduation students, NY
Press
2025 Voyage Houston Magazine
2024 New York Association of black journalists
2024 Wall Street Journal, The Brooklyn Artists Exhibit
2024 NYTimes Magazine, Making of YASSA
2024 Harlem World Magazine, A New Multiculturalism exhibit
2024 RFI(Radio France International), A New Multiculturalism exhibit
2023 Canvas Rebel, Interview
2022 Photovogue